Escape from Dol Guldur (Solo Player Living Tournament)

By juicebox, in Player community

This tournament is part of the Living Tournament system. You are welcome to read this, play the scenario, and post your results (in that order). Place well enough, and you may just end up with a Living Tournament World Ranking !

Scenario: Escape from Dol Guldur
Deck Parameters: Open Build*
Number of Players: Solo Player

Tournament Parameters:

1) This is a Living Tournament. You may play and post results at your own pace.
2) *Open Build means you may use any legal LOTR LCG cards at your availability.
3) A valid result in this tournament consists of reporting your results (wins and losses) from 3 back-to-back games (may be spread out over as much time as you like), using the same deck for each of those 3 games. (Please observe the mulligan rule, and all other rules, from the LOTR LCG rulebook and subsequent official FAQ documents.)
4) After you post your results, the results from your 3 games will be calibrated using the RGun formula** to obtain your Weighted Result.
5) Weighted Results will then be ranked against other player’s Weighted Results, and the rankings will be updated over time as new results are posted to the thread.
6) You may play this tournament as many times as you would like (so you can try out different deck builds over time), but you can only hold one spot in the overall tournament rankings at a time (i.e. this gives you a chance to try and best your own result while only occupying one spot in the rankings).
7) Do not cheat. Just don’t. It destroys the fun and integrity of the tournament system. If you realize you have made a mistake at a later date that had serious implications for a result you had posted in the past, please make a new post in this thread drawing attention to that fact – that past result will be invalidated, and of course, you are welcome (and highly encouraged) to try again.

**The RGun formula has been designed to value both Final Score (per game) and overall Win Ratio (from your 3 games, cumulative). The formula is: (Average Score of Games Won) x (Total Games Played/Games Won). For an expanded discussion on how this formula was created, you can read the thread called Measuring Success .

Posting Your Results (Required Information):

When posting your results for this tournament you are encouraged to cut and paste from the following template and complete the requested information:

Heroes:

Game 1 Result: (Report Final Score or Loss)
Final Threat Level:
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero:
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes:
Victory Points Earned:
Number of Rounds Completed:

Game 2 Result: (Report Final Score or Loss)
Final Threat Level:
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero:
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes:
Victory Points Earned:
Number of Rounds Completed:

Game 3 Result: (Report Final Score or Loss)
Final Threat Level:
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero:
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes:
Victory Points Earned:
Number of Rounds Completed:

Posting Your Results (Optional Information):

After completing the above, you are welcome to include any other details you would like to add. Some suggested ideas are: your specific available card pool (number of Core Sets used, specific Adventure Packs used, etc…) and additional narrative to share epic tales of your adventures through Middle-earth.

Living Tournament Rankings:

1. Fanfan ~ 117 (August 30, 2012)
2. Ganjalf87 ~ 117.67 (December 10, 2012)
3. muemakan ~ 165 (May 23, 2012)
4. Robert McMutton ~ 178.5 (April 21, 2012)
5. masonos ~ 180 (August 4, 2012)
6. DevastazioneH88 ~ 184.5 (December16, 2012)
7. lleimmoen ~ 255 (June 2, 2012)
8. SiCK_Boy ~ 372 (April 27, 2012)
9. leptokurt ~ 423 (March 17, 2012)
10. jjeagle ~ 489 (June 10, 2012)

Last Updated:

January 26, 2013 (1:56am) [FFG Time - Forum Time Stamp]

Home Link:

Living Tournament Library & World Rankings

I finallly beat Dol Guldur!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heroes: Glóin, Dáin Ironfoot, Bifur

Game 1 Result: 141
Final Threat Level: 44
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 2
Victory Points Earned: 5
Number of Rounds Completed: 10

Prison: Bifur

Game 2 Result: Loss
Prison: Bifur

Game 3 Result: Loss

Prison: Bifur

Decks used: 1 core set, all Mirkwood expansions and KD

I played six games at all. In two of them I got to stage 2B, in 3 of them I got thwarted in stage 1B, and in one, oh baby, I made it out of these dungeons! Encounters were (IIRC):

Setup: Eyes of the Forest / Caught in a Web / Cavern Guardian
1 Dungeon Jailor
2 Necromancer's Reach
3 Mountains of Mirkwood
4 Mountains of Mirkwood
5 Necromancer's Pass
6 Under the Shadow
7 Enchanted Stream
8 King Spider
9 Iron Shackles
10 Dol Guldur Orcs
11 Ungoliant's Spawn

It was pretty helpful to have Henamarth from round 4 on. That's why I could send everyone questing once I got the Jailor defeated and I was prepared when the King Spider was drawn. Faramir and Silverlode Archer joined my group early, and I was luck to have both Steward of Gonder and Song of Wisdom in my hand, so I could play lore allies before I got Bifur out of jail.

This is great, I finally beat Dol Guldur. After some tries, I did it. My first win at this quest. Although I had tried it sometimes, never seriously like today. So, here it is:

Heroes: Aragorn, Eowyn, Dúnhere

Game 1 Result: Loss
Prisoner: Aragorn

Game 2 Result: Loss
Prisoner: Dúnhere

Game 3 Result: 159
Final Threat Level: 35
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 8 (Dúnhere)
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 5
Victory Points Earned: 9
Number of Rounds Completed: 12

Prisoner: Dúnhere.

That started well, SG in my first draw, managing my threat low, and using Sneak Attack + Gandalf twice to deal with the Nazgul. In the last round Dúnhere died, but I didn't mind at that point lengua.gif .

Wow, it feels good gran_risa.gif .

Ok, now I am a little lost. I'm not sure if this is ok, so, let me know. Here is the question: after my previus post of Dol Guldur, where I finally won my first time, scoring Loss, Loss and a Win, I continued playing the quest. I had another Loss (what a surprise), but the next one I beat it again. So the problem is that I'm not sure if I can count this last 3 games for a new result to the tournament, because this games were back to back, or I can't because my first win was already used for one previous result.

If it's ok, this would be the stats:

Game 1 Result: 159
Final Threat Level: 35
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 8 (Dúnhere)
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 5
Victory Points Earned: 9
Number of Rounds Completed: 12

Prisoner: Dúnhere.

That started well, SG in my first draw, managing my threat low, and using Sneak Attack + Gandalf twice to deal with the Nazgul. In the last round Dúnhere died, but I didn't mind at that point .


Game 2 Result: Loss
Prisoner: Eowyn


Game 3 Result: 99
Final Threat Level: 28
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 1+2+2=5
Victory Points Earned: 5+5+4=14
Number of Rounds Completed: 8

This was almost easy. I started with Celebrian's Stone and Steward of Gondor in my hand, and this made me walk along the quest with some sense of control and knowing that I had possibilities. I could manage a lot of allies, and Gandalf appeared as many times as needed. Once rescued, Dúnhere, with 2 Dúnedain Marks attached, aided me to clean the staging area of foes.

I believe you are allowed to count it for scoring purpose in the Living Tournament format.

The only rules are using the same deck and playing 3 consecutive games. So I'd say you are okay.

Congrats Robert!

If you want a new challenge, try Into the Pit with only two heroes. gui%C3%B1o.gif

SiCK_Boy said:

I believe you are allowed to count it for scoring purpose in the Living Tournament format.

The only rules are using the same deck and playing 3 consecutive games. So I'd say you are okay.

I always play them in a set of three, starting with one game and ending the cycle with the third. A clarification by Juicy would be nice though.

SiCK_Boy said:

The only rules are using the same deck and playing 3 consecutive games. So I'd say you are okay.

This is fine.

I am basing this on:

"3) A valid result in this tournament consists of reporting your results (wins and losses) from 3 back-to-back games (may be spread out over as much time as you like), using the same deck for each of those 3 games. (Please observe the mulligan rule, and all other rules, from the LOTR LCG rulebook and subsequent official FAQ documents.)"

I know at points, in discussion, the 3 back-to-back games have been referred to as a "set" sometimes, and I can see where that could create some confusion. I'm sorry if that's been cramping anyone's style. Since the above (quoted) interpretation is the most literal, I'll stand by it for the sake of trying to keep things as straightforward as possible.

Sound fair?

Also, huge congrats to anyone who has beat this scenario solo even once! Robert McMutton, to go 2 for 3 (or even 2 for 4, however you want to look at it) is pretty stellar and worthy of story in my book. Personally, I'm wondering how Secrecy cards may help out in the great jail break. I have yet to try it though.

leptokurt said:

Congrats Robert!

If you want a new challenge, try Into the Pit with only two heroes. gui%C3%B1o.gif

Thank you, leptokurt. I saw that you are starting to play with secrecy and two heroes, and I want to give it a try. But I have a lot of quests remaining to make a result for the living tournament, so I think I will wait at least to Watcher in the Water, in order to have some more secrecy cards. But it's great to know that it works gran_risa.gif .

Greetings.

juicebox said:

Also, huge congrats to anyone who has beat this scenario solo even once! Robert McMutton, to go 2 for 3 (or even 2 for 4, however you want to look at it) is pretty stellar and worthy of story in my book. Personally, I'm wondering how Secrecy cards may help out in the great jail break. I have yet to try it though.

Thank you, juicebox sonrojado.gif . It was a surprise, and I had a lot of luck.

Greetings.

Adventure: Escape from Dol Guldur
Heroes: Bilbo, Gloin and Theodred Every Hero was prisoner once
Card Pool: I have 2 core sets and every expansion to choose cards from.
Game 1 Result: won
Final Threat Level: 29
Threat Cost of Dead Hero:
Damage on Heroes:
Victory Points Earned: 5
Number of Rounds: 15
174
Game 2 Result: won
Final Threat Level: 41
Threat Cost of Dead Hero:
Damage on Heroes:
Victory Points Earned: 10
Number of Rounds: 19
221
Game 3 Result: won
Final Threat Level: 20
Threat Cost of Dead Hero:
Damage on Heroes:
Victory Points Earned: 9
Number of Rounds: 13
141
Games won: 3
Average Score: 178,6666667
Win Ratio: 1
Total: 178,6666667

That was epic....at eleast for me. I have never won the quest solo. After 2 days of tirying different decks and mostly failiing I managed one series of games were I won 2 and in the last game I thought I had won and quested with nearly everybody just to get the damned spider. So nothing lost I thought....I ´ll win next round. Just feed some poor ally to the spider. Then the Bees came as shadow card....that was the end of it.

So this deck then finally did it....The last game was awsome as I had the SoG in my starting hand and also a sneak Gandalf. Next I drew a lore song......from there it was quite easy.

muemakan said:

Adventure: Escape from Dol Guldur
Heroes: Bilbo, Gloin and Theodred Every Hero was prisoner once
Card Pool: I have 2 core sets and every expansion to choose cards from.
Game 1 Result: won
Final Threat Level: 29
Threat Cost of Dead Hero:
Damage on Heroes:
Victory Points Earned: 5
Number of Rounds: 15
174
Game 2 Result: won
Final Threat Level: 41
Threat Cost of Dead Hero:
Damage on Heroes:
Victory Points Earned: 10
Number of Rounds: 19
221
Game 3 Result: won
Final Threat Level: 20
Threat Cost of Dead Hero:
Damage on Heroes:
Victory Points Earned: 9
Number of Rounds: 13
141
Games won: 3
Average Score: 178,6666667
Win Ratio: 1
Total: 178,6666667

That was epic....at eleast for me. I have never won the quest solo. After 2 days of tirying different decks and mostly failiing I managed one series of games were I won 2 and in the last game I thought I had won and quested with nearly everybody just to get the damned spider. So nothing lost I thought....I ´ll win next round. Just feed some poor ally to the spider. Then the Bees came as shadow card....that was the end of it.

So this deck then finally did it....The last game was awsome as I had the SoG in my starting hand and also a sneak Gandalf. Next I drew a lore song......from there it was quite easy.

And thinking I was proud of taking 2 wins at Dol Guldur... it's clear I have to improve that, man. Just WOW aplauso.gif .

Robert McMutton said:

muemakan said:

Adventure: Escape from Dol Guldur
Heroes: Bilbo, Gloin and Theodred Every Hero was prisoner once
Card Pool: I have 2 core sets and every expansion to choose cards from.

And thinking I was proud of taking 2 wins at Dol Guldur... it's clear I have to improve that, man. Just WOW aplauso.gif .

But as you may notice your result is not that far away from mine , although you have only won twice.

So my wins were painfully slow. And it is the first time I ever won games solo at this quest. I tried a few decks and mostly got 1 win if ever.

Most of the decks I tried failed in 2 or 3 rounds.......that scenario is soooo terrible balanced. Once my setup was Jailor, Hummerhorns, Spawn and the first card was Necromancer´s Pass. Yeah start the game with 8 threat in the staging area.

As discused in the Dead Marshes thread, I was counting wrongly the number of rounds. After muemakan and leptokurt explained me, I repost my result arranged:

Game 1 Result: 149
Final Threat Level: 35
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 8 (Dúnhere)
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 5
Victory Points Earned: 9
Number of Rounds Completed: 11

Game 2 Result: Loss

Prisoner: Eowyn


Game 3 Result: 89
Final Threat Level: 28
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 1+2+2=5
Victory Points Earned: 5+5+4=14
Number of Rounds Completed: 7

Total score: 178,5

Heroes: Aragorn, Gloin, Prince Imrahil

Game 1 Result: Loss
Final Threat Level: N/A
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: N/A
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: N/A
Victory Points Earned: N/A
Number of Rounds Completed: N/A

Prisoner: Prince Imrahil

Game 2 Result: Loss
Final Threat Level: N/A
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: N/A
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: N/A
Victory Points Earned: N/A
Number of Rounds Completed: N/A

Prisoner: Gloin

Game 3 Result: 124
Final Threat Level: 36
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 3
Victory Points Earned: 5
Number of Rounds Completed: 9

Prisoner: Gloin

Card pool: 3 x Core Set, All Shadows of Mirkwood AP, KD, TRG, RtR

Decklist

Leading out of the Dungeons

Hero (3)
Aragorn (Core) x1
Gloin (Core) x1
Prince Imrahil (AJtR) x1

Ally (23)
Brok Ironfist (Core) x1
Faramir (Core) x2
Gandalf (Core) x3
Guard of the Citadel (Core) x3
Keen-eyed Took (THoEM) x3
Longbeard Orc Slayer (Core) x2
Silverlode Archer (Core) x3
Snowbourn Scout (Core) x3
Son of Arnor (Core) x2
Dunedain Watcher (TDM) x1

Attachment (9)
Dunedain Mark (THfG) x3
Dunedain Warning (CatC) x3
Steward of Gondor (Core) x3

Event (18)
Ever Onward (KD) x3
Ever Vigilant (Core) x3
Shadow of the Past (RtM) x3
Sneak Attack (Core) x3
Taking Initiative (TRG) x3
Valiant Sacrifice (Core) x3

I initialy tried with a Spirit only deck hoping to make use of Good Meal and Stand and Fight, with no success. I figured I needed Steward of Gondor to have a chance, hence this deckbuild.

I played a 4th game after those 3, which I loss.

I just can't believe some people are able to post 3 wins in a row. There are so many setup that are insurmontable. How can you handle a setup with 6 points of threat?

Anyway, I did keep a full log of all games. I don't think there's much point in sharing them. My two loss were because I reached 50 threat. I just was never able to install myself and get Gandalf going. In game two, I mulliganed into a weak hand with no Steward, so it was soon over.

My win was obtained with a number of key plays: taking initiative on turn 1 to kill a cavern guardian (that card was designed for this scenario), 3 x sneak attack and gandalf and a starting steward of gondor. I had to play around a Caught in a Web on Aragorn for most of the game, but I just gave him the Map and he stuck to questing and readying from that point on. I kept fearing Ungoliant's Spawn would show up to wreck me (either as a shadow or in the staging area), but it was the last card in the encounter deck.

Took me agaes to get another deck to beat it……

Escape from Dol Guldur

Bilbo, Loragorn and Theodred ( Prisoner: 2x Theo, 1xBilbo )

I have 2 core sets and every expansion to choose cards from.

Game 1 Result:

won

Final Threat Level:

39

Threat Cost of Dead Hero:

Damage on Heroes:

Victory Points Earned:

5

Number of Rounds:

10

134

Game 2 Result:

won

Final Threat Level:

24

Threat Cost of Dead Hero:

Damage on Heroes:

Victory Points Earned:

19

Number of Rounds:

20

205

Game 3 Result:

won

Final Threat Level:

46

Threat Cost of Dead Hero:

9

Damage on Heroes:

Victory Points Earned:

9

Number of Rounds:

11

156

Games won:

3

Average Score:

165,00

Win Ratio:

1

Total:

165,00

Yeeeesssssss………took me forever to get 3 wins in a row again.

A real pitty was game number two….lost one objective early in the game and had to cycle through the whole deck a second time to find it on the bottom…..

Theodred was lost due to those dam Hummerhorns in the last game. I really learned to love this new healer.

Game 1 Result: 85
Final Threat Level: 26
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 4
Victory Points Earned: 5
Number of Rounds Completed: 6

Game 2 Result: Loss
Final Threat Level:
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero:
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes:
Victory Points Earned:
Number of Rounds Completed:

Game 3 Result: Loss
Final Threat Level:
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero:
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes:
Victory Points Earned:
Number of Rounds Completed:

* Dúnhere, Éowyn, Legolas

Comments : This one is a long time ago. It is the only one victory I ever scored against Dol Guldur solo. I actually find it nigh impossible, especially doing it repeatedly. I think the odds are too great, even if you deckbuild for the quest (which I never do but I thought this deck was well suited). I don't actually recall the other two games but I put loss as I have lost so many times - mostly in first two rounds. The one super lucky win came on my birthday. I still think this quest is a bad idea solo, who enjoys reshufling the decks as much as playing…

Heroes: Eowyn, Frodo, Dunhere

Game 1 Result: Defeat [Eowyn captured]

Game 2 Result: Defeat [Eowyn captured]

Game 3 Result: 163 [Frodo captured]
Final Threat Level: 40
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 8
Victory Points Earned: 5
Number of Rounds Completed: 12

Posting Your Results (Optional Information): I finally got round to purpose-building a deck to beat Dol Guldur and notched my first ever solo victory. My deckbuilding logic was:

- run three heroes from the same sphere to reduce the impact of the imprisoned character

- this sphere has to be spirit

- splash leadership off Song of Kings because Steward and Sneak (with Gandalf) are so strong. I also ran Dunedain Mark with the aim of setting up Dunhere to attack the staging area strongly but this never came off

I only won one out of five though, so this is hardly a resounding triumph.

Heroes: Aragorn (Lore), Theodred, Glorfindel (Spirit)

Game 1 Result: 116
Final Threat Level: 26
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 0
Victory Points Earned: 0
Number of Rounds Completed: 9

Prisoner: Aragorn

Game 2 Result: LOSS
Too many enemies guarding objectives. Heroes dead in round 4 without prisoner.

Prisoner: Aragorn

Game 3 Result: 124
Final Threat Level: 24
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 0
Victory Points Earned: 0
Number of Rounds Completed: 10

Prisoner: Theodred

Total: 180

Both won games were due to Light of Valinor from the first round (Caught in a Web doesn't make so much mess when attached to Glorfindel with the Light) and Asfaloth + Ancient Mathom combo in the late part of game. I ran a risk several times and left few attacks undefended, but Warden of Healing had always came to set everything right.

Just succeeded a series of 4 solo victories against 'Escape of Dol-Guldur'

here are the first 3 (that include the best 2 scores)

Heroes: Eowyn, Beorn, Glorfindel (Spirit)

Game 1 Result: 97
Final Threat Level: 39
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 8
Victory Points Earned: 0
Number of Rounds Completed: 5

Prisoner: Beorn

Game 1 Result: 147
Final Threat Level: 47
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 17 !
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 2
Victory Points Earned: 9
Number of Rounds Completed: 9

Prisoner: Glorfindel

Game 3 Result: 92
Final Threat Level: 41
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 5
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 6
Victory Points Earned: 5
Number of Rounds Completed: 5

Prisoner: Glorfindel

… a very promising deck !

Averaged total: 112


Fanfan said:

Just succeeded a series of 4 solo victories against 'Escape of Dol-Guldur'

here are the first 3 (that include the best 2 scores)

Heroes: Eowyn, Beorn, Glorfindel (Spirit)

Game 1 Result: 97
Final Threat Level: 39
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 8
Victory Points Earned: 0
Number of Rounds Completed: 5

Prisoner: Beorn

Game 1 Result: 147
Final Threat Level: 47
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 17 !
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 2
Victory Points Earned: 9
Number of Rounds Completed: 9

Prisoner: Glorfindel

Game 3 Result: 92
Final Threat Level: 41
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 5
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 6
Victory Points Earned: 5
Number of Rounds Completed: 5

Prisoner: Glorfindel

… a very promising deck !

Averaged total: 112


WTF…………5 rounds????? how on earth did you manage that??
I must admit since posting my last result I haven´t attempted EfDG with new cards but I am impressed.

With 2 heroes I normally barely stay alive when trying to build up my forces. And how did you cope with the resource problem?

And how did you manage to win with just one hero??? Wow.

Last score should be 97

muemakan said:

WTF…………5 rounds????? how on earth did you manage that??

Hi !

yes, I was surprised with the 5 rounds too, basically, it was 3 ends of turns spent in quest step 1, 2 in quest step 2, and going straight through step 3.

But I can not say I am 100 % sure I did not forget to count one turn once, especially in game 3. Game 1 I am positive on the 5 rounds, with a base of 7 willpower from Eowyn and Glorfindel, joined very fast by Arwen. And with Beorn released, light of Valinor and the 'Hobbit' Gandalf in the mid-game, I was able to both quest strongly and strike the big minions at the same time.

But 5 rounds for game three is surprisingly fast, even with forgiving encounter cards and Eowyn as my quester. I remember drawing treachery cards and engaging several minions with Beorn in the early game, so that I am facing an empty staging area. But 5 rounds is so fast, that I can't help being skeptical that i could not have missed counting one round. If this winning series is going to set a temporary record for EfDG solo, I suggest changing it to 6 rounds to be more conservative.

muemakan said:


I must admit since posting my last result I haven´t attempted EfDG with new cards but I am impressed.

The powerhouse among the new cards I am using in this deck is Beorn, according to me. Also, while I agree that EfDG is always a challenge, it is sometimes an easier challenge depending on the starting three cards guarding the objectives. This deck has a slightly positive wining rate against EfDG, but of course, I get crushed when I reveal 3 spiders guarding the objectives. I am reporting this series as surprisingly successful.

muemakan said:

With 2 heroes I normally barely stay alive when trying to build up my forces. And how did you cope with the resource problem?

Yes, EfDG step 1 is probably the toughest experience for solo players in this game.

With the sacrifice of the leadership sphere, the average cost of the cards I play is quite low. Cheap and efficient cards. Very different from the lore-leadership card-drawing, card-playing machines.

Basically it can be two different games: whether I have Beorn and a spirit quester, in which case I am struggling to gather some more willpower early from the many cheap allies, but I should be fine fighting the low-engagement minions. Or I don't have Beorn, but the two questers, in which case I am trying not to suffer too much from creatures, knowing I should be fine on the questing side. Light of Valinor is the strongest card here. In both cases, step 1 is challenging, but maybe not as much as it is for many other decks facing EfDG.

muemakan said:

And how did you manage to win with just one hero??? Wow.

In that game, everything was going well. I mean, most of my heroes were badly wounded, but I usually have a good control of what could happen to them with 3 'a test of will' and 3 'hasty stroke'. I had finished step 2 of the quest and just had to race through step 3 when I revealed Hummerhorns as a shadow card, which finished both Beorn and Glorfindel, and one ally. Fortunately, I just had enough willpower left to go through step 3 with Eowyn and remaining allies.

muemakan said:

Last score should be 97

My notes say that I had 5 victory points and no dead hero, but I remember losing Glorfindel in several games I played yesterday before running through quest 3, and I may have been confused as it is also 5 points. Also 6 total wounds seem too low for my deck against EfDG, unless I have dead heroes :) . So I think you are right and my score for game 3 should be 97, and I would even change that to 107 to account for the fact that I am not entirely sure I only spent 5 rounds in that game.

This brings the total score of the three games to 117, which is still very good I think, and will be an interesting challenge to try and defeat!

Played 23 games with that Hero Combination. Got one victory. Score was 147.

Would you post your deck list?? That would be great. The games where I lost Glorfindel at the start seemed to be the best ones…

Sure !

I have recently created this deck, and I am still tuning it. But i can post the version that won the nice series.

I won 3 of the first 8 attempts (119/145/110 for the scores), then I heavily modified it and won 4 of the 6 games I played since (97/147/107/149), with the modified version.

here is the modified list as i remember it, with comments for some of the non-obvious choices:

Heroes

Glorfindel (spirit)

Eowyn

Beorn

Allies (27)

Arwen x 2

Bofur x 2

Elfhelm x 1 (He is pretty good against this quest - with the many 'doom 1' cards, and the objective cards that require raising your threat when you get them.

Eomund x 1 (He has descent stats for his cost, and can lead to good combinations with other Rohan cards, especially if you replay him with stand&fight)

West road traveller x 3 (I have a test of will to protect these guys, and they are very good at questing. It turns out that their location exchange is quite useful in this location heavy quest)

Northern tracker x 3

The riddermark's finest x 2 (this guy is a good filler, he can help questing if I have a good defense, but is usually kept in case a nasty location shows or sparing Beorn from a tough striker - he is also a good play with stand & fight as I can directly use him in the quest phase)

Bofur (tactics) x 1 (the best source of willpower for a tactics card, decent stats)

Gondorian spearman x 3

Winged Guardian x 3 (I don't run tons of tactics cards, and this eagle allows a good use of my (potentially) spare resources - with hasty stroke, he can save Beorn from the big strikers several times)

Descendant of Thorondor x 3 (this eagle is very good in a low threat deck, especially if you can play him with stand & fight during the quest phase)

Gandalf (core) x 1

Gandalf ('The hobbit') x 2 (My rule of thumb is the old Gandalf is better in sneak-attack decks, but this one is a good alternative in a non-leadership deck)

Attachments (8)

Light of Valinor x 3

Unexpected Courage x 3 (This card is not the crazy spoiler it could be in a deck featuring Elrond or Beravor, for example, but it is not bad either, especially against caught in a web)

Horn of Gondor x 1 (The only source of extra resources - far from steward of Gondor, but can be worth a bunch of resources)

Rivendell Blade x 1 (It is supposed to be good - but against EfDG, I kind of need both Beorn & Glorfindel to play it - also you rarely need two at the same time, as no minion has 4+ armor)

Events (15)

A test of will x 3

Hasty stroke x 3

Stand and fight x 3 (With more than half of the deck made of allies, this card is very good here.It gives you some choice, and it also allows to play your ally during the quest phase. Also, it kind of allows benefiting from tactics allies even when Beorn is captured - you discard them with Eowyn, then play them during the quest phase.)

Elrond's counsel x 3

Feint x 3

I am still in the tuning phase for this deck, there are a bunch of small modifications I have in mind to be tested. I am also trying to design decks not specifically to be played against one quest. Without Steward of Gondor, every resource you spend has to really be worth it, and made me reconsider my approach.

The number of games I played against EfDG with this deck is still quite low, but it is pretty rare that a new idea reaches a decent win ratio, as this deck did for me. I have another deck with a decent win ratio record against EfDG, but not with such a good score for a series of 3 consecutive victories, which is why I reported it.

Yep, change the guardians to vassals, the thorondors to westfold housebreakers, bofur( tactics) and one Tracker into Dwarven Tombs and you have got my decklist.

Also thought Elfhelm would be great but hedoesn´t do much for me in most games because I wait to get the objectives til the last possible moments.

If I start with beorn and one spirit hero I hardly manage to get into stage 2.

If I start with both spirit heros getting even one enemy during setup proves hard to overcome. And locations do kill me very easy too.

Getting Caught in a Web early is game over most of the time. One time I had to raise my threat for 12 in a single round.

I played another 15 games yesterday, and won 5.

I have removed the tactics Bofur to add a third spirit Bofur, that goes along quite well with the second horn of Gondor I have added. I have removed the descendants of Thorondor too, for 'shadows of the past' and 'watcher of the Bruinen'.

I had another good series (109-136-116 for an average of 120), but it seems a 50 % win rate will be difficult to reach with this deck (as it is with the crazy majority of decks)

threat - wounds -deads - victory - old score - turns - new score - prisoner

x x x x x x 0 Eowyn
x x x x x x 0 Eowyn
x x x x x x 0 Beorn
x x x x x x 0 Eowyn
31 9 9 0 49 6 109 Beorn
44 12 0 10 46 9 136 Glorfindel
42 14 0 0 56 6 116 Beorn
48 12 0 0 60 9 150 Beorn
x x x x x x 0 Beorn
32 10 0 5 37 10 137 Beorn
x x x x x x 0 Beorn
x x x x x x 0 Eowyn
x x x x x x 0 Beorn
x x x x x x 0 Beorn
x x x x x x 0 Glorfindel

Many of these games would have been very challenging to almost any deck, like the four ones in which I had like 6 threats + Dungeon Jailor in the starting 4 shadow cards.

Elfhelm is also good for the 'doom 1' cards in the encounter deck, and the simple fact to have him in your party on the turn you pass step 2b of the quest is a free Elrond's Council ! (picking up two objectives + the effect of the Dungeon Torch you just picked)

In case you have the two spirit heroes, ennemies are not so bad. Only three can engage you straight away: Cavern guardian & Dol Guldur orcs you don't defend and just hope you won't draw another Dol-Guldur Orcs as a shadow card, then kill them in one strike with Glorfindel. Much worse is the King spider. The best answer I have found is discarding 'Watcher of the Bruinen' with Eowyn, then play 'Stand & fight' blocking with it and providing the 1 attack point Glorfindel is missing for the Killing blow.

I always put 'Caught in a web' on Glorfindel, he is still a good quester if I have light of Valinor, and his attack is not mandatory if I have Beorn in play.. The three unexpected courage are mainly here as counters, and a test of will can do the job too.

I have other decks with a better win rate, but this one is more original, and slightly faster at doing it when it wins ! (Which is the purpose of this contest)